Vancouver Weekend Getaway
Last weekend Josh and I took a much needed vacation, and spent three days in the downtown Vancouver area. Obviously, we've been to downtown Vancouver before, but it was always for specific events-dinner at this restaurant, a show at that venue, a trip to Stanley Park with the parents, etc. We had never just spent time getting to know the downtown area as a whole. So we used some of our $4000 tax refund (thank you, Canada!) to get a hotel in the middle of downtown for two nights. Our weekend started on a shaky note. Driving into the city Friday afternoon, we suddenly hit backed up traffic a couple blocks from the hotel. As we inched forward, the reason for the blockage slowly became visible: 2 firetrucks, 3 ambulances, and 2 crews of guys in Hazmat suits, blocking off half of the street and scurrying in and out of an apartment building right next door to the restaurant we had been planning to eat at this evening. Hmmm.... We eventually got past the blockage and were able to check into the hotel, the Century Plaza Hotel & Spa. It was decent enough. Not a luxury resort, although the lobby tried to convince you otherwise. The rooms themselves were a little shabby and overwarm. It was a great location, though, and we got a good deal on it, so it was just what we needed. We hopped online to find out what the deal was with the Hazmat teams, to make sure we hadn't wandered into an outbreak of zombiism or something. Turns out it was a drug-lab cleanup Fun!
With that sorted, we headed out to see a bit of the city for the rest of the afternoon. We walked over to the Vancouver Public Library, which is one of the most awesome buildings I've seen in awhile. The picture doesn't quite do it justice, but you get the idea:
In between the curved portion and the round colliseum-like part was a door that led to a little indoor area that felt a little like the old section of some European town, all cobblestones & little open-air cafes, except for the fact that it was roofed with glass & right across from the entrance to the library. Strange, but cool.
Fans of BSG may recognize this area as part of Caprica City. I could do a whole post on Vancouver locations used in sci-fi shows (X-files, BSG, Stargate, Smallville, etc)...but I won't. After admiring the library, we wandered back downtown and found MacLeod's Books. I have to say, it is a travesty that we spent a year and a half in this town without knowing about this bookstore. It's the archetypal used bookstore: dusty stacks piled on towering shelves, buried treasure waiting to be found in every corner. We bought some books, of course, including the fairly-recently-published English translations of the Night Watch & Day Watch books. alfrecht, we have to take you here when you visit next, as their medieval and celtic sections will undoubtedly occupy you for several hours.
At that point, it was starting to get late and clouds were rolling in, so we headed back to the hotel. After a few blocks of walking, it started to rain. And then rain harder. And then get colder. And all of a sudden, it was hailing, tiny little balls of ice stinging the back of my neck. We ran to the nearest bus shelter and hopped on the next bus that arrived, taking a few more blocks to the hotel. We couldn't believe it was hailing in mid-April. We holed up at the hotel for an hour or so until the icy rain let up, then went out for delicious, delicious Thai food and tasty, tasty cocktails. While at the restaurant, the rain returned and then transformed into big fluffy snowflakes. Fortunately, the restaurant was just a block from the hotel and we made it back, fortified by rum drinks. It continued to snow, eventually actually sticking to the ground and the roof of the building across the street (which is not supposed to be white):
The next morning, thankfully, the snow was gone & the sky was clear-ish. We decided to walk down to the False Creek waterfront to try and find a place to have breakfast near the bay & scout a possible dinner location. We walked under the Burrard Street & Granville Street bridges and wound up at Nu, the restaurant we had been thinking about for dinner. It's a pretty upscale place, where you could easily drop a lot of cash. We decided to do brunch there instead, which would be cheaper, and that was definitely the right call. The restaurant juts out over the water, right across from Granville island. Their coffee was to die for. I ordered the "yogurt & granola", which also came with orange crepes and fresh fruit, and it was scrumptious. Before serving the meals, our waiter brought around a small cup of absolutely decadent hot chocolate and a small fluffy danish. Yum. I would eat there every morning if I could. Here's Josh in front of the restaurant as we left:
Nu is the bottom level of the building behind him; another restaurant is on the top levels. Behind that is the Granville St bridge.
After brunch, we wandered down along the seawall past some cold windy beaches and then headed up to Davie Village, the "gay district". I have to say, compared to Hillcrest, it just doesn't measure up in terms of culture & vitality. It was a little disappointing, although still better than New Westminster. We did get to Little Sisters, a landmark store for the area. It's half sex shop and half bookstore, with a strong gay/lesbian/gender studies/erotica focus, so that was fun to browse. We poked around a few other stores and then headed back to the "uptown" part of downtown. There we took a ride on the Skylift up the Vancouver Lookout, a giant tower with a 360 degree glass viewing area.
The view from the top was pretty stunning.
We ooh-ed and aah-ed over it for awhile, then went back down. We swung by Coal Harbor (the waterfront on the opposite side of the city from the waterfront we had brunch at) and looked at the floating houses, but it was getting late and we were tired so it didn't seem terribly exciting. We grabbed a bus back to the hotel and had a little rest before going back to Davie St for mexican food. Mexican food is always a dodgy proposition in Canada, but hope springs eternal, and this time we were not let down. It still doesn't hold a candle to San Diego taco stand food, but we did manage to get a decent burrito and chimichanga. The pitcher of margaritas helped too.
The next morning, we had brunch at the hotel restaurant after checking out, swung by the comic book store on the way home, and then returned to our kitties. All in all, a weekend full of great food and lots of walking. A well-deserved break.
With that sorted, we headed out to see a bit of the city for the rest of the afternoon. We walked over to the Vancouver Public Library, which is one of the most awesome buildings I've seen in awhile. The picture doesn't quite do it justice, but you get the idea:
In between the curved portion and the round colliseum-like part was a door that led to a little indoor area that felt a little like the old section of some European town, all cobblestones & little open-air cafes, except for the fact that it was roofed with glass & right across from the entrance to the library. Strange, but cool.
Fans of BSG may recognize this area as part of Caprica City. I could do a whole post on Vancouver locations used in sci-fi shows (X-files, BSG, Stargate, Smallville, etc)...but I won't. After admiring the library, we wandered back downtown and found MacLeod's Books. I have to say, it is a travesty that we spent a year and a half in this town without knowing about this bookstore. It's the archetypal used bookstore: dusty stacks piled on towering shelves, buried treasure waiting to be found in every corner. We bought some books, of course, including the fairly-recently-published English translations of the Night Watch & Day Watch books. alfrecht, we have to take you here when you visit next, as their medieval and celtic sections will undoubtedly occupy you for several hours.
At that point, it was starting to get late and clouds were rolling in, so we headed back to the hotel. After a few blocks of walking, it started to rain. And then rain harder. And then get colder. And all of a sudden, it was hailing, tiny little balls of ice stinging the back of my neck. We ran to the nearest bus shelter and hopped on the next bus that arrived, taking a few more blocks to the hotel. We couldn't believe it was hailing in mid-April. We holed up at the hotel for an hour or so until the icy rain let up, then went out for delicious, delicious Thai food and tasty, tasty cocktails. While at the restaurant, the rain returned and then transformed into big fluffy snowflakes. Fortunately, the restaurant was just a block from the hotel and we made it back, fortified by rum drinks. It continued to snow, eventually actually sticking to the ground and the roof of the building across the street (which is not supposed to be white):
The next morning, thankfully, the snow was gone & the sky was clear-ish. We decided to walk down to the False Creek waterfront to try and find a place to have breakfast near the bay & scout a possible dinner location. We walked under the Burrard Street & Granville Street bridges and wound up at Nu, the restaurant we had been thinking about for dinner. It's a pretty upscale place, where you could easily drop a lot of cash. We decided to do brunch there instead, which would be cheaper, and that was definitely the right call. The restaurant juts out over the water, right across from Granville island. Their coffee was to die for. I ordered the "yogurt & granola", which also came with orange crepes and fresh fruit, and it was scrumptious. Before serving the meals, our waiter brought around a small cup of absolutely decadent hot chocolate and a small fluffy danish. Yum. I would eat there every morning if I could. Here's Josh in front of the restaurant as we left:
Nu is the bottom level of the building behind him; another restaurant is on the top levels. Behind that is the Granville St bridge.
After brunch, we wandered down along the seawall past some cold windy beaches and then headed up to Davie Village, the "gay district". I have to say, compared to Hillcrest, it just doesn't measure up in terms of culture & vitality. It was a little disappointing, although still better than New Westminster. We did get to Little Sisters, a landmark store for the area. It's half sex shop and half bookstore, with a strong gay/lesbian/gender studies/erotica focus, so that was fun to browse. We poked around a few other stores and then headed back to the "uptown" part of downtown. There we took a ride on the Skylift up the Vancouver Lookout, a giant tower with a 360 degree glass viewing area.
The view from the top was pretty stunning.
We ooh-ed and aah-ed over it for awhile, then went back down. We swung by Coal Harbor (the waterfront on the opposite side of the city from the waterfront we had brunch at) and looked at the floating houses, but it was getting late and we were tired so it didn't seem terribly exciting. We grabbed a bus back to the hotel and had a little rest before going back to Davie St for mexican food. Mexican food is always a dodgy proposition in Canada, but hope springs eternal, and this time we were not let down. It still doesn't hold a candle to San Diego taco stand food, but we did manage to get a decent burrito and chimichanga. The pitcher of margaritas helped too.
The next morning, we had brunch at the hotel restaurant after checking out, swung by the comic book store on the way home, and then returned to our kitties. All in all, a weekend full of great food and lots of walking. A well-deserved break.